Anything but Normal
by chasing.tay
Summary: Ever since April met Leo, their relationship has been anything but normal (to say the least). But with Leo in remission after surgery to remove his brain tumor and April back in the hospital for her second round of Chemo, they have ultimately accepted that neither of them have the promise of a future, so Leo proposes on the spot. (Rated M for chapters to come)
1. Chapter 1

She stared at him for a solid 20 seconds, searching his eyes for any trace of his sarcasm and finding none. Was this a joke? Yes, Leo could be mean. _Really_ mean, in his own charming kind of way. But April was tired. Exhausted, actually. She had been up since 6 am and the first day of her second round of Chemo had completely wiped her out, so it was no time for him to be messing with her like that. Still, she was 24! She couldn't get married! Not yet!

That was the moment that it hit her for real. She could be dead next week, or even tomorrow! She had no way of knowing. However, she _did_ know that she was in love with Leo. There was no doubt about that. She couldn't imagine spending the remainder of her life, whatever that may be, with anyone but him. Even Dominic had finally made his way out of her head. And all of the sudden, she was sure. April knew she would have no regrets as she let a single word pass through her lips.

"yes."

It was Leo's turn to be surprised. Yes? he blinked a few times, then spoke, "yes?"

"Yes!" April exclaimed, standing up with a wince. It took a moment for her to find her balance before she was able to step forward and kiss him. She snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he placed his hands tenderly on her hips. After a second he took a step back, breaking the short-lived snogging. April pouted, trying to hide the fact that she was already out of breath. He grinned at her.

"I know I'm irresistible, but I can't let you kill yourself like this."

Taken aback, April looked up at him in shock. What the _hell_ did that mean!?

Able to see that she was obviously confused, he tapped the bag of fluid attached to the end of her IV and chuckled. "Chemo? Sucky immune system? Life threatening bacterium that may or may not reside in my mouth? Does any of this sound familiar to you, or are you just that eager to die?"

She smiled and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his toned chest. She then replied, "Yeah, I'm already regretting the fact that I just agreed to marry you, but I'm WAY too egotistical to admit it so I decided that 'death by kiss' was probably my best out." They both laughed and April sat down on what was to be her bead for the next few weeks.

"You tired?" Leo asked.

"Maybe a bit." April yawned, "Cancer does that to you." She leaned back, getting comfortable for the night. He sat down and propped himself up next to her, sliding his arm around her shoulders so she could use his chest as a pillow. Leo kissed her on the forehead and she she smiled, then fell asleep in his arms almost instantly. He waited about 20 minutes to make sure she was out before kissing her forehead again and slipping silently out of her room.

Leo got onto his motorcycle and checked his watch. 2:30am. April was finally sound asleep, and would remain so for at _least_ 12 hours. He laughed, started his engine, and as he pulled on his helmet, he hoped that he would be back in Boston before she woke up.

4 hours later, he pulled to the curb in front of Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York. Of course there were probably Tiffany stores in Boston, but this one was special, especially because of its history. Leo was pretty sure that he was the only person who knew that April's secret favorite movie was _Breakfast at Tiffany's,_ which had been shot at this location in 1961. He was also the only person who knew about her secret obsession with Audrey Hepburn.

He was confused when April had asked him to keep her secret. Why was it such a big deal if Brenna ever found out she had seen every movie Audrey had ever filmed? But April said that it was the one thing she had ever kept for herself, and she loved it that way. When Leo had jokingly threatened to show her large DVD collection to her mom, she begged him not to tell anyone. It was her "maybe dying wish."

It was about 6:45, and Tiffany's didn't open until 10, so he decided to window shop. He strolled along the 5th Avenue side first, then the 57th Street wall, and that was when he saw it. It was a silver ring embedded with small diamonds around the band, then circling around one small sapphire gem. He wasn't even sure if it was classified as an engagement ring, if that even mattered. But he knew April would love it.

Leo obviously hadn't slept at all, so he sat down and rested his head against the glass panel next to the revolving door. The next thing he knew, someone was tapping on his shoulder patiently and saying "Sir... sir? Are you alright? It isn't safe for you to be out here like this."

Leo looked up at him, then checked his watch; it was almost 9. "Sorry, I'm just waiting for this place to open. One doesn't usually check store hours before making the impulse decision to take a four hour drive."

"Well why don't you come on in? You obviously know now that we don't open until 10, but we can make an exception just this once." The short, round man replied, fiddling with his keys. He kept glancing back at Leo oddly, which made him sure that he had been following his father's campaign.

After finally managing to get the door working, he gave it a push and said "Go ahead."

Leo stepped into the store with his eyes on the ring he had in mind for April. The man whose nametag read "William" stepped in behind him, following his gaze. "You have something in mind?" he asked Leo politely.

"Yes, actually. This is the one I had in mind." He lead William to the corner and showed him the display he had seen from the window. He glanced down in it and smiled, taking it off of the cushion it was resting upon.

"Ah, yes. This one we call Sapphire Swirl. May I ask whom it is for?" Leo scratched behind his ear and looked at his feet.

"It's for my fiance." He blushed; something he dare say had never happened before, not even after his stroke causing him to speak gibberish in public.

William looked surprised. "Fiance?" he asked. "My my, it looks like I haven't been following your father's campaign very closely. I hadn't a clue there was a woman in your life." So this man obviously knew exactly who Leo was.

"Yeah, well we've only been together a few months, and may only have a few more, so I figured why not get hitched while we still can?" He chuckled, hiding the fact that he truly was terrified of losing April. William looked startled again.

"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry. I thought that you were in remission. My condolences to you and your family."

"Thanks, buddy, but I actually am in remission. And April was, too, until about 48 hours ago. She went in for her second round of Chemo yesterday and she's getting a Bone Marrow transplant soon after she recovers." William shamefully looked at his feet, embarrassed by all of his inaccurate assumptions. "So.. can I buy this or what?" Leo asked sarcastically.

"Oh, yes of course!" William rushed behind the counter to gift wrap it in one of those little blue boxes April loved so much. Paying in cash he had taken from his dad, Leo exited the shop and raced back to meet April before she woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

Leo was back in Boston by 1:00, and he walked through the doors of the cancer ward at exactly 1:13. As he approached April's room, he could see Sara looking puzzledly at the screen of her tablet as she was probably stuck on level 4,763 of Candy Crush, which meant that April was still sleeping. He tapped lightly on the glass before entering the room, knowing already that he was welcome (not that it would have mattered if he wasn't).

"Leo!" Sara exclaimed in a hushed voice and jumped up to give him a hug. "I haven't had the chance to see you since I got back to Boston." She sat back down on the small couch and motioned for him to sit next to her. "How have you been since.." he knew what she meant.

"I've been alright. I mean, its just cancer. April is a tough cookie. She can handle it." He glanced at April's small form, curled up into a ball on her side. He still wasn't admitting how afraid he was that he might actually lose her.

But Sara could tell. She could always tell, and Leo knew it. She put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Its ok to be scared. We all are. April won't admit it either, but she has every right in the world to be terrified. And so do you."

"Thanks, Sara. I really appreciate that."

She smiled warmly at him. "Any time at all."

They sat in silence for a minute before Leo decided to ask whether or not April had been awake yet. "No, last time she started chemo she practically slept for an entire day. Last night I came straight here from the airport. She insisted that I go home and at least drop my bags off and change into something more comfortable, but I came right back and have been doing practically nothing since 3:00 am."

"Well you can take off if you want to. I've got nothing better to do than nothing, and I wouldn't mind staying here with her and maybe catch up on my own sleep." He winked playfully at the woman who would soon be his mother in law.

"Thats sweet. Thank you." Sara said, gathering her things and standing up, leaving Leo to stretch out on the couch by himself.

"I'll call you if she wakes up with any sign of permanence." He called after her as she exited the room.

About an hour after Sara left, April began to stir. Leo crossed the room to sit next to her on the bed. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." He said softly, kissing her on the cheek. She rolled over to face him, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"What day is it? She grumbled, trying to remember where she was.

"It's day 2 of Chemo, silly! How could you possibly forget?" She smiled up at him. His constant humor was what kept her going. "Hey, I got something for you while you were out." He said excitedly, reaching into his pocket. She caught a glimpse of the little blue box and gasped. "So I guess our engagement is official now." April was speechless as she opened the box, eyes full of wonder.

Staring at the beautiful ring, she found her words. "Leo, I didn't think they sold anything like this at the Tiffany stores here!"

He couldn't contain the smile that had been playing at his lips. "They don't." Leo read the confusion on April's face and said "5th Avenue."

April's eyes widened with shock. "Leo!" He couldn't have possibly made it to New York and back while she was sleeping! "You didn't!?"

"Oh, but I did." He replied, taking the ring out of the box and slipping it onto her finger. "And look at that! A perfect fit! God, I am good." He winked at her and she stared at her ring, gaping before she sat up and hugged him with all the strength she could muster.

"Leo, I love you so much." She whispered into his ear.

"I know." He said smartly. She smacked him playfully on the back of his head and he kissed her on the cheek. "Kidding! I love you too."


End file.
